Get Marty: Family's Christmas Wish Fulfilled By Total Strangers
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A child's Christmas wish can vary, but many times, it's a toy.
A popular toy can be hard for parents to get, but one mother was able to do it. Then, the store told her she couldn't have it. But, this story has a happy ending.
It started with an email to KDKA-TV Investigator Marty Griffin from Sandra Karr.
"Marty, my son passed away on Aug. 25. He left behind a 4-year-old daughter named Isabella. All this little girl has asked us for Christmas this year is a Disney Frozen Snow Glow Elsa."
A big box retailer promised it to Karr. She said when she got to the store, they told her no.
"They told us we could come into the store. They did have it, they refused to sell it to us. They told us they had it in the back stock room, but they weren't permitted to sell it to us until Thanksgiving Day at six o'clock," Karr said.
The loss of her 31-year-old son, but the 4-year-old he left behind made this about more than a toy, which is why she reached out to Marty.
"I needed your help. I was frustrated. I was getting the runaround," she said. "I knew you would get results."
That's where our erstwhile Santa comes in. Marty read Sandra's email once on KDKA radio. Dave Hollick heard it and couldn't help himself.
"I could do it. I had to do it," he said.
Hollick works part time at a Toys R Us. He bought the Elsa doll there and even got his daughter involved.
"Well, I took my daughter to Toys R Us to pick the toy up. She took her own money she's been saving for her marching band trip and bought her. [She] wanted to get her something else as well. So, I'm proud of my little girl," he said.
They gave the gifts of the doll and the Elsa wand to a family that was once strangers.
"The generosity of people. It restores my faith in mankind. It really touched my heart," Karr said. "Because I know my son would be smiling down from Heaven."
Sometimes one gesture can make such a difference.
It this case it did.
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